There has been a lot of debate about what is actually going on with The Batman. The title is tentative, with some claiming it starts shooting next week, while others claim it's nowhere near ready for production. Ben Affleck is, and has been, in the later camp. And he continues to claim that the movie isn't a go. This, despite the fact that his co-star, just last week, claimed The Batman would start shooting before the end of 2016.

If that is true, Ben Affleck is keeping this information very close to his chest. Not only did Joe Manganiello claim that The Batman, which may or may not end up being the official title, was shooting in 2016, Warner Bros. announced that Justice League 2 was being delayed to make way for The Batman. That movie was scheduled for a 2019 release. That is no longer the case. But, that said, The Batman still sits without a proper release date.

Aside from Joe Manganiello's official casting as the main bad guy Deathstroke in the movie, a role Ben Affleck himself unveiled, nothing else has been officially released about the movie. All of it has been rumor and conjecture, with Ben Affleck periodically stepping in to undermine any news that has come forward. He previously stated that he wouldn't make the movie unless the script was at 100%. His latest statements seem to echo that.

Affleck recently spoke with The New York Times, where the actor-turned-director gave an update on the script. He is co-writing it with DC Films boss Geoff Johns, and the rough outline has been done for a while. But the pair are continuing to hammer away at it. He makes it seem like no screenplay exists at this time, though we've heard different. About sitting down to actually write the script himself he says this, offering his side to why we haven't heard announced yet.

"That's the idea, yeah, that's the idea. We still have to get a screenplay and get it together. I am [writing it]; that doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be good. [laughs] I'm a real believer in not doing, not reverse engineering projects to meet a window or a date, but rather like when you get the right story or you get the right idea or you get the right thing, then you make the movie. And so that's what we're doing, and I'm hoping to get that done and spending a lot of time on that, but I'm also working on other stuff. And if I could, if I can find it right then there's nothing I'd love more than to direct a standalone, you know, iconic great Batman movie."

In the past week, we've seen Armie Hammer trolling the internet, standing in a kitchen alongside Joe Manganiello as they claim to be 'burning the midnight oil' collaborating on a project. It was rumored early on that Armie Hammer might have a role in The Batman, and that may be the case. But it hasn't been officially announced yet. If this is true, it would bring Hammer full circle. The Lone Ranger and Man from U.N.C.L.E. actor was once cast to play Batman in George Miller's Justice League Mortal but that movie was canceled just days before it was set to go into production due to the writers' strike.

As for The Batman, while it hasn't been announced by DC Films and Warner Bros. in any official capacity, it is all but confirmed by both actors themselves that Jeremy Irons will be back as Alfred and J.K. Simmons will reprise his Justice League role as Commissioner Gordon. Ben Affleck is not only the co-writer, he will also be directing and headlining this adventure. Many believe the movie will now arrive on June 14, 2019 in place of Justice League 2, but there is still a chance we might see it in 2018. Especially after the news that Aquaman got bumped from its summer 2018 date and moved to October of that year.